a/n – Thank you all for the great feedback. Your support is greatly appreciated. Again please excuse any errors I am a lone wolf on this story.
XxX
"Nik, those are not comfy clothes." Caroline huffed, one hand holding open the front door, the other gesturing to his dark jeans and hunter green long sleeve t-shirt before gesturing to her herself, as Caroline was dressed in dark blue sweatpants, a white tank top with a green cardigan that hung loosely from her shoulders. "This is comfy clothes."
Klaus just flashed her smirk as he strolled into her flat. "Love, my comfy clothes are comprised of a pair of boxers and not much else. I don't think you would have appreciated me showing up dressed as such. Or perhaps maybe you would have." Klaus grinned as he wiggled his eyebrows at her – it was such a Kol thing to say. Or maybe it was Kol who picked up his habit to make inappropriate comments from Klaus rather than the other way around.
Caroline just rolled her eyes at the last remark, choosing to ignore it. "Well then perhaps I should be grateful that you are so considerate. Although I do know you have sweats, Stefan tells me you work out with him all the time." Caroline grumped as she shut the door and locked it. Tonight was going to be a low key date, no fancy restaurants, exclusive clubs or museums, just the two of them with takeout food and Netflix.
"Caroline, I am not going to be seen wandering the city in sweats." Klaus growled as he kicked his shoes off and made his way over to the couch, setting the bottle of wine he brought with him onto the table before falling into the couch with a soft humph.
"I can't tell who's prissier, you or me, although right now I am leaning towards you being the prissier one of the two of us." Caroline ducking the pillow he threw at her, a huge grin on her face at his reaction to her quip. God he was behaving like a child, Klaus thought to himself, but for some reason he always felt so relaxed and carefree with Caroline and it wasn't a bad thing. She seemed to bring out the fun childish side of him that he had forgotten existed, it was nice not having to be the big bad wolf all the time.
Caroline picked up the pillow and tossed it back onto the couch, moving to sit down next to him, watching him open the wine bottle and filling the wine glasses that sat on the table before she opened the containers of Indian food that sat on the coffee table in front of them. "Kat is coming to visit in a few weeks. She wants a ride in your Range Rover." Caroline said as she flashed Klaus a smile before taking a huge bite of her curry chicken.
Klaus just shook his head and as he leaned back into the couch, holding a white container and a fork, lazily mixing the contents as he gazed at her. "Is that your subtle way of asking to barrow my SUV, love?"
"And driver. I don't have a license to drive here. Plus you nerds all drive on the wrong side of the road and not to mention the steering wheel is on the wrong side of the car." Caroline's nose wrinkling at the thought which Klaus found absolutely adorable.
"So because we don't drive how you yanks do, we are all nerds?" His eye brows lifting as he tilted his head forward waiting for her answer.
"Yes. Sorry I have to be the first one to break it to you." She pressed her lips together in a sympathetic smile, her hand reaching out to caress his stubbled cheek as if to soften the blow. Klaus turned his head at the feel of her fingers and playfully nipped at them, forcing Caroline to jerk her hand back as she stuck her tongue out at him.
"Shouldn't you not insult the person you are asking a favor from, sweetheart?" Klaus asked with a small smirk pulling at his lips as he lifted his fingers to tuck a stray curl behind her ear.
"It's not an insult if it's the truth." Caroline said, giving a nod at that and took another bite of her food which just caused Klaus to grin at her cheek.
"Well who can argue against that? What is mine is yours, love. Just let me know when." Klaus said as he set down his now empty container of food and moved to pick up another one giving it a curious glance before diving in.
"Really?" Caroline asked, her azure eyes so lovely and wide as her eye brows went up with a look of surprised pleasure.
"Yes, love." Klaus smiled, feeling his heart constrict a bit and finding it so odd that he really enjoyed making her happy when he should be focusing on seducing her. That was the game plan all along, he would play boyfriend to her and try and seduce her every chance he got. And once he got her into bed, he would drop the boyfriend act and go on his merry way. Yet whenever he was with her he tended to forget the game plan. Instead he was just with her, enjoying himself to the fullest. Yes, he wanted to sleep with her, but he also just liked doing things with her, talking to her, spending time with her and it didn't matter that spending time with her didn't involve a bed.
Klaus would tell himself that he liked the chase, the challenge that was Caroline. That was the only reason he was even doing this. Not because he liked her or the fact that he actually started caring about her. He had to wonder about the caring part, though. Klaus didn't care for anything other than family and caring about anything else was a weakness. So course he didn't really care about her, at least that is what he told himself.
He was pulled out of his reverie as Caroline leaned over to plant a small kiss against his lips, her blue eyes bright as she met his gaze. "Thank you! You are the best, even if you are a nerd." Caroline teased as she leaned back to go back to her food.
"Kat is going to be so stoked about the Range Rover. I am so excited she is coming! I miss her so much. Although it is going to be a little awkward with Stefan, but I will try and keep them apart as much as possible. I totally hate they are like this. Maybe they can get past it one day and we can all be cool again." Caroline sighed as she looked over the various containers on the table before snagging a fork full of rice.
Klaus just shook his head as he listened to Caroline ramble, he loved it, he really did. Did he just say he loved it? No, not love. He liked it. Yes, like. Not loved. Shaking himself out of that line of thought he tilted his head back bringing the glass of wine to his lips and taking a sip before speaking. "So what happened between your friend and my en-" Klaus pausing to cough trying to cover up the fact that he almost said enforcer. "and my best mate Stefan?"
Caroline paused from eating to give him an odd look before answering his question. "Kat and Stefan used to date a while ago and Stefan was madly in love with her, like romance novel in love…. And I thought Kat was in love with him too." A sigh left Caroline's lips as a look of sadness crossed her face as she became lost in the memories of happier times.
"And then Kat started become really distant with Stefan and just started acting weird whenever they were together - then one day she just broke up with him out of the blue. Stefan was shocked to say the least and it left him absolutely heartbroken." Caroline sighed again as she took a small bite of her food before looking up at Klaus who was watching her with interest. "The worst part of it was that Kat left Stefan to be with his brother Damon. And as you can imagine things just went to hell from there." Caroline said with a slight lift of her shoulder.
"What happened?" Klaus asked quietly, slightly stunned at the news about his enforcers past.
"Well, Stefan and Damon got into a fist fight that ended with Stefan leaving town and going to Chicago." Caroline answered as she fiddled with her fork, her whole demeanor becoming somber.
"Chicago. Where Stefan met me." Klaus murmured quietly to himself, her story filling in some of the blanks that Klaus had always wondered about Stefan. They had met at some hole in the wall bar in Chicago that catered to a clientele that tended to enjoy not so legal forms of entertainment. They had met and immediately became fast friends, spending their time getting drunk, fucking women and kicking the shit out of people that had so much as looked at them the wrong way. Klaus often thought of those times as some of the best times in his life. Klaus appreciated the violence that Stefan possessed so much that he offered him a job as his enforcer.
"I had never seen him that angry before. Ever. It was like he just went off the rails completely. He was drinking so much…. It took a long time before he would even start to return my phone calls. I don't even think he remembered most of them when we first started talking he was so hammered. I did what I could to help him though it, gave him as much support as I could and with time he slowly got better. He isn't drinking as much anymore. He seems like he is becoming his old self again now." Caroline smiled quietly; genuinely happy that her best friend was coming back to be the man he was before his breakup with Kat.
Klaus gave a slight nod, lost in his thoughts as he processed the information. Stefan back to who he was…. it would explain why Stefan was not as motivated or as passionate about his job as an enforcer as he used to be and he was starting to see less and less of the ripper he had come to know and admire. As well as the fact that Stefan didn't overindulge with the drinking, always seeming to have a very tight reign of control over himself, no matter how hard Klaus tried to get him to drink more.
"He is even starting to talk to Damon again." Again Caroline smiled, as she was glad that the brothers were finally reconciling. "Of course it probably makes things easier now that Kat is no longer with Damon." Caroline gave a slight shrug of her shoulder as she took another sip of wine.
"Well that is a very interesting tale, sweetheart." Klaus said as he put his arm around Caroline to press a kiss against her temple.
Once they were done with dinner, the food cartons cleared away and the wine glasses refilled they both settled onto the couch, Caroline tucking her bare feet under her legs as she leaned into Klaus, his arm sliding around her to pull her tightly against his side. Lifting the remote, Caroline started to scroll through the movie titles looking for something both of them could agree on. They finally agreed on an action movie, but only because Caroline thought the lead actor was in her words 'if he was president he would be Baberham Lincoln.'
It was about half way through the movie that Klaus had become bored and decided to turn his attention to the girl that was snuggled against his side. She was enraptured with the movie, as it had somehow snuck in some romance and Caroline had become completely invested in the lead characters relationship. Needing to pull her attention from the movie and on to him he started with light touches, his fingertips sliding over her shoulder and down her arm, playing gently with her fingers for a moment before moving back up the path he came down, a smirk pulling at his lips as he watched her shift herself against him, her hand lifting to rest against his thigh, her fingers kneading lightly on the fabric of his jeans.
Brushing her golden hair back over her shoulder he exposed the graceful curve of her neck, he tilted his head down to nuzzle the soft porcelain skin, Caroline's breath hitching as she felt the stubble of his cheek scratch against her as a soft sigh escaped her lips, her head falling to the side to allow him better access as the movie became forgotten. Klaus pressed open mouth kisses against her neck, his tongue flicking out to taste her skin, his actions sending a pool of heat straight to Caroline's belly.
Klaus shifted slightly in his seat as he pulled Caroline around to face him, his hands moving to her shoulders to push the cardigan off, exposing more of that delightful skin. Dipping his head down, he ran his mouth across her collar bone, pushing the tank top and bra strap off leaving her shoulder completely bare to continue his trail of fire across her skin unimpeded. Caroline was having trouble breathing at that point as she pulled herself out of her cardigan she lifted her hands up to stroke his face and run her fingers along the length of his neck, a smile on her lips as she caught his body tensing at her touch.
His mouth finally lifted from her skin to capture her mouth against his, her lips parting allowing him immediate entry into her mouth, their tongue dancing together as his hands roamed her body. Fingertips brushed lightly against her breasts before cupping with weight of them in the palm of his hands, thumbs brushing gently back and forth against her nipples that were hardening under his touch sending shivers racing through her body.
"Nik." She whispered against his lips, her body arching against his wanting to be closer. Her hands fell from his neck to glide against the muscles of his chest and stomach before coming to the edge of his shirt as she slid her hands under the fabric to feel his skin against her hands, a soft hum of pleasure escaping her lips as she caressed the ridges of his abs, his muscles jumping under her touch.
With a soft growl Klaus pushed Caroline onto her back his body coming to hover over her own, his hand lifting one of her legs to wrap around his waist, allowing him to make room between her legs as he settled his hips against her own. Caroline rolled her body against his own, causing Klaus to fight to catch his breath at the feel of her soft body pressed against his own. Caroline pulled at his shirt, wanting to see for herself what she had been imagining for months, pulling the offending fabric up and over his head, tossing it to the side she paused. He was absolutely gorgeous; every single muscle was outlined from his pecks to his abs that left her wanting to run her tongue over each and every line of his body.
With that thought in mind she twisted them around so that she was on top of him, her thighs straddling his hips as she ran her hands up and down his chest before leaning down to follow the lines of his muscles with her lips and tongue. Klaus groaned at the contact of her mouth against his skin, his hands burring themselves in her golden curls as she continued her ministrations against his body. He could only take so much before he pulled her back up to kiss her, his mouth moving against her own in the most delightful ways, his hands sliding across her back and down to the sweet curve of her ass, gripping the mounds tightly as he pulled her hard against his need for her.
"Niklaus." She whispered against his lips, her body felt like it was on fire, yet she knew she had to stop. She knew she had to stop, yet she couldn't help herself. She wanted him so badly but fear held her in check. She was afraid he would leave her once he had her and with Caroline falling for Klaus body and soul and she had to stop this before it went too far because she knew he liked her, but he wasn't where she needed him to be. She needed to be sure that once they slept together that he would stay with her. Gasping for breath she broke their kiss and nuzzled her face into his neck, whispering quietly against his skin "Not yet."
Klaus felt he was going to explode, especially when she called out his given name. How was he supposed to stop after that? All he wanted to do was rip off her clothing and bury himself inside of her, yet her pleas to go no further were headed reluctantly as he fought for his breath and tried to calm his raging desire for her. "You're diving me insane Caroline."He murmured against her hair before he lifted her off of him to place her on the other side of the couch unable to continue touching her without taking it further. With a sigh Klaus came to his feet and moved around the table to pick up his discarded shit and pulled it back on.
"I know. I'm sorry." Caroline whispered as she curled into the corner of the couch, her blue eyes dark with want as she watched the muscles of his back play under his skin as he got dressed a dark blush touching her face as she felt herself heat up once more.
"I am going to go, sweetheart. I won't be held responsible for my actions if I don't leave right now." His voice was rough with desire as he spared her a quick glance, and she could see the hunger written plainly on his face. Caroline gave a quick nod of understanding as she watched him unlock her door and walk out, closing it behind him with a hard slam. Caroline groaned as she pulled her hand across her face and stood up to take a very cold shower.
The Starbucks was quiet this late in the afternoon; the perfect place for Caroline to sit and write when she didn't want to be at home alone. Yes she was technically she wasn't really with anyone at the table but there were still actual people in the shop. Plus the free Wi-Fi and having iced mocha lattes at her fingertips didn't hurt. She loved coming to Starbucks because it was a little piece of home. Well home as in the United States and not the little town she grew up in; it wasn't big enough to get a Starbucks.
Caroline leaned back in her chair as she contemplated what she had just written on the laptop before her. Her article on Victoria Beckham's line was due in a few days and she had only a few lines written so far. She was starting to form a very bad habit of barely meeting her deadlines and the cause of this newly formed bad habit could be laid at the door of her boyfriend. Caroline was wound tighter than a spring for the past few weeks ever since their movie night in. All of their dates ended up with them making out like a couple of hormonal teenagers with things never progressing past second base.
Her insecurity about Klaus leaving her was what held her back. If she was truthful with herself she was falling in love with him and she was scared shitless that he would leave her and break her heart. Things were getting to the point that one – she didn't think she could take this dancing around make out stuff much longer and two – she had to start trusting him at some point as he had done everything by the book so far. He stopped when she asked, never pressing even though she just needed one little push to send her over the edge, he treated her like a Queen whenever they were together and even apart as she had yet to go a single week without a fresh bouquet of flowers being delivered to her door and not to mention she actually felt cared for when she was with him. She could see it every time they were together and she was actually going to have to trust that feeling and take the next step with him if she wanted to move their relationship to the next level.
The hiss of the espresso machine brought her out of her reverie and her gaze back onto the laptop in front of her that held a total of five sentences. Damn it Caroline, stop thinking about him and do your damn job. With the little self talk out of the way she shook off her thoughts of Klaus and got back to her article only to be interrupted a moment later by a heavily accented voice. "Caroline Forbes?"
Caroline looked up confused at the man before her, he was tall, pale with light brown-blondish hair and a matching beard. "Umm, yeah….?"
"Galen Vaughn, Scotland Yard." A faint smile touching his lips as he observed the puzzled look that crossed Caroline's lovely face at his introduction. "London Police." He supplied helpfully as he pulled out his badge and identification for her to look over before putting it back into his pocket. Caroline gave a nervous nod at the explanation and closed her laptop as the man before her took a seat across from her, Caroline nervously tapping her fingers against the table as she watched him sit down.
Caroline could only stand a moment of silence before she started to ramble. "Does this have something to do with immigration because I can assure you I have all my legal documents to be in the country and the company that I work for totally was the one who took care of most of it and –"
"No, Ms. Forbes. This has nothing to do with your immigration status." Galen interrupted gently, not wanting to scare the girl. "This actually has to do with Klaus Mikaelson and Stefan Salvatore. Two people whom you have recently been seen a great deal with."
"Stefan and Nik?" Caroline's brows coming together as she leaned forward in her chair, concern marring her features. "Are they ok? Did they get in some kind of an accident? Is that why you are here? I don't understand why you would come rather than call….unless it is something really bad. Oh my God! There're not dead are they?"
Galen pressed his lips together as he watched Caroline work herself into a frenzy, the girl was truly unique, at least that was the most polite way that he could put it. "They are both fine Ms. Forbs. In perfect health." He reassured her quietly.
A look of relief swept across Caroline's face before it went back to confused as she met Galen's blue eyes with her own. "Then what is this about?"
Galen observed her for a moment before taking a deep breath and then leaned forward, his forearms coming to rest against the table top as he linked his fingers loosely together. "Ms. Forbes are you aware of what Mikaelson and Salvatore do for a living?"
Caroline's brows pulled together as she answered his question with a bit of hesitation. "Nik owns a shipping company with his brothers and Stefan works for them. Nik is like the CEO and Stefan is a project manager or something."
Galen smirked at her answer, oh the irony of it all. Shifting in his seat he glanced outside the window for a moment before returning his gaze to the pretty girl in front of him. "Yes, that is pretty much what they do except for the fact that their shipping company is actually a crime organization and what they do ship happens to be completely illegal: guns, drugs, stolen art to name a few. Their hands are in a few other illegal activities throughout the city. And as for CEO…" Galen gave a slight tilt of his head as he considered his words. "Mikaelson had crowned himself King of London's underworld and Salvatore is his enforcer which you could liken to a CEO and project manager I suppose."
Caroline was stunned to say the least as she listened to the man before her. A million things were running through her head at once as she ran the new information over and over again. Her thoughts were interrupted by Galen as he spoke once more. "Do you know what an enforcer is Ms. Forbes?" Caroline could not find her voice so she just shook her head no.
"An enforcer is someone who threatens, maims or kills those who do not obey Mikaelson's rules, that is what Stefan Salvatore is. His nick name on the streets is The Ripper because of the carnage he leaves behind." Galen dropped his chin a bit as he looked Caroline over, observing how she was taking the news.
Caroline pressed her hand against her mouth as she thought of her best friend Stefan, who was the definition of sweetness and kindness, committing those horrendous acts. It couldn't be possible; he wasn't capable of such things. And even if it was true there was no way he could keep something like that from her.
Shaking her head Caroline lifted her face as she locked her eyes with Galen's. "No, you are lying. This has to be some kind of sick joke. Stefan would never hurt anyone in a million years. How do I even know who you say you are? That badge could be a fake."
Galen pulled out his card and handed it to her, as he motioned to her lap top with his other hand. "Feel free to look up the number for Scotland Yard and ask about me. They will confirm I am who I say I am and everything I have told you is the truth. I am part of a special taskforce whose main goal is to take Mikaelson and his associates down."
"Task force?" Caroline asked faintly, as his reassurance of who he was had sent her back into a state of shock as she once again considered the consequences of believing the truth about her boyfriend and her best friend.
"Yes, task force. There are five of us, most of us here in London but one of the members is in Chicago – Connor Jordan with the FBI. Salvatore and Mikaelson caused quite the ruckus when they were in Chicago together. We assume Mikaelson was in town to make a few business deals, which is why your government is involved. And while Mikaelson was seeing to business he happened to pick up his new enforcer at the same time." Galen fell quiet as he allowed Caroline to process all of the information he had just shared with her.
Chicago, Klaus and Stefan met in Chicago, Stefan had said as much to her. Chicago was when she barely had any contact from him, and now that she thought about it, she never asked what he had been doing there all that time. And Klaus….she couldn't even begin to think about whether or not she believed him capable of such things, but all the clues were there. His conducting business at odd hours, how terrified anyone who came in contact with him was that was not one of his employees or family, and he didn't seem to have any friends except Stefan and even Stefan tended to tread carefully around Klaus.
"The taskforce was specifically created because of Mikaelson family and more notably Klaus himself. When Klaus Mikaelson took over the family business the illegal activity in London exploded. He is like a hybrid of businessman and criminal that is almost impossible to stop. He has expanded his business of illegal activity and has managed to keep his hands clean so we no way to arrest him. We have also seen the aftermath of his temper and bodies he leaves behind that people have taken to calling him The Wolf. He is vicious and clever, a deadly combination and he needs to be stopped.
Caroline swallowed hard at Galen's description of Klaus. All she had ever seen was the results of his reputation and yet she had never seen the person who he described to her with her own eyes. Klaus was funny, clever, sweet, sexy and a slew of other adjectives that were the main cause of Caroline falling in love with him. She couldn't believe that he was a monster Galan was describing anymore than she could believe her best friend capable of hurting another person. Caroline shook herself out of her thoughts for a moment as a question shot to the front of her mind and looked once more to Galen.
"Why are you telling me all of this?"
"We want you to help us. No one who was not directly connected with their business has ever been this close to Mikaelson and Salvatore before. We did a background check on you . You are a good lass, no prior record and your mother is even the Sheriff of the town you are from. We want you to be our eyes and ears on the inside and help us take them down." Galen pushed himself up and out of the chair as he looked down at her, Caroline's gaze drifting to blindly look out the window to become lost in her thoughts before he pulled her attention to him once more.
"They do a lot of bad things Ms. Forbes. You would be doing this city a great service by helping us. You have my card, please contact me and let me know what you decide." And with that he turned on his heel and walked out the door, leaving Caroline at a complete loss.
XxX
Please review and let me know what you think about this chapter. I hope I haven't jumped the shark with the story line.